N. W. J. Wainwright

The serotonin transporter length polymorphism, neuroticism, and depression: a comprehensive assessment of association.

BACKGROUNDnA promoter-based length polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) of the human serotonin gene (SLC6A4) has exhibited inconsistent association with emotionality phenotypes, such as major depression (MD) and the personality trait neuroticism (N). Several explanations have been posited to account for this discrepancy, including underpowered experimental design and variation in gender ratio, age, and ethnicity.nnnMETHODSnHere, we describe three independent tests of association between the 5-HTTLPR locus and both N and MD in samples selected for extremeness of N-score from two homogenous populations (n = 88,142, and 20,921). Calculations of statistical power indicated that at a 5% alpha level, these samples retain 100% power to detect a genetic effect accounting for just .5% of phenotypic variance. Effects of age were regressed out of the phenotypic measure, and gender was included as a covariate.nnnRESULTSnNo statistically significant effects of genotype could be identified on either N or MD phenotypes (in all cases, p > or = .26), independently of the genetic mode of action applied.nnnCONCLUSIONSnOur data do not support the hypothesis that the 5-HTTLPR variant contributes significantly toward human emotionality as indexed by either the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire N scale or the DSM-IV for MD.

Places, people, and their physical and mental functional health

Study objective: To investigate the impact of area of residence on functional health as represented by medical outcomes study SF-36 physical and mental component summary scores. Design: Multilevel analysis of cross sectional data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk, UK (EPIC-Norfolk). Participants: A community dwelling cohort of 18 399 men and women, aged 41 to 80 and resident in 162 electoral wards in Norfolk, UK. Main results: Significant residual variation in physical functional health was observed at the area level after controlling for important individual level socioeconomic factors (p<0.001). However, the extent of this variation was modest when compared with that at the individual level (representing 0.6% of the total). About half of this variation could be explained by area deprivation. Area deprivation was associated with impaired mental functional health but residual variation at the area level (adjusted for individual level factors) was observed only for men (0.5% of total, pu200a=u200a0.02). Conclusions: Area of residence was associated with physical functional health, albeit with modest effect size. Evidence for an association between area of residence and mental functional health was weak.

Sleep duration and risk of fatal and nonfatal stroke A prospective study and meta-analysis

Objective: To study the association between sleep duration and stroke incidence in a British population and to synthesize our findings with published results through a meta-analysis. Methods: The prospective study included 9,692 stroke-free participants aged 42–81 years from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer–Norfolk cohort. Participants reported sleep duration in 1998–2000 and 2002–2004, and all stroke cases were recorded until March 31, 2009. For the meta-analysis, we searched Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for prospective studies published until May 2014, and pooled effect estimates using a weighted random-effect model. Results: After 9.5 years of follow-up, 346 cases of stroke occurred. Long sleep was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08, 1.98]) after adjustment for all covariates. The association remained robust among those without preexisting diseases and those who reported sleeping well. The association for short sleep was smaller (and not statistically significant) (HR = 1.18 [95% CI 0.91, 1.53]). There was a higher stroke risk among those who reported persistently long sleep or a substantial increase in sleep duration over time, compared to those reporting persistently average sleep. These were compatible with the pooled HRs from an updated meta-analysis, which were 1.15 (1.07, 1.24) and 1.45 (1.30, 1.62) for short and long sleep duration, respectively. Conclusions: This prospective study and meta-analysis identified prolonged sleep as a potentially useful marker of increased future stroke risk in an apparently healthy aging population.

Psychosocial factors and incident asthma hospital admissions in the EPIC‐Norfolk cohort study

Background:u2002 Case series and case‐control studies have shown high rates of psychosocial and behavioural risk factors amongst patients admitted to hospital with severe asthma. General population studies have shown associations between psychosocial factors and prevalent asthma but few have investigated incident asthma outcomes.

The Val66Met Coding Variant of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Gene Does Not Contribute Toward Variation in the Personality Trait Neuroticism

BACKGROUNDnThe val66met variant located within the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) has previously been associated with human neuroticism, a dimension of personality strongly predictive of depressive illness.nnnMETHODSnHere we report an attempt to replicate this association using three populations of extreme neuroticism scorers derived from two large English cohorts (n = 88,142 and n = 20,921). On the basis of the current literature, which indicates that an effect of BDNF may only become apparent in those individuals exposed to stress, a gene-environment interaction was also sought.nnnRESULTSnNo statistically significant effects were identified, although simulations indicated that the samples held sufficient power to detect a main effect accounting for just .75% of variation and an interaction accounting for 4% of variation.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThese data do not support the hypothesis that the val66met BDNF polymorphism contributes toward variation in the human personality trait neuroticism, at least as indexed by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.

Sense of coherence, lifestyle choices and mortality

Background: Based on data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer, Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) study, we have previously shown a strong sense of coherence (SOC) to be associated with a reduced rate of all-cause mortality. Objectives: To investigate the extent to which the SOC mortality association can be explained by socioeconomic status and lifestyle choices. Design and setting: Prospective population-based cohort study. Participants: 18u2009287 study participants aged 41–80 years who reported no pre-existing chronic disease at baseline and who completed an assessment of SOC. Results: Based on 1599 deaths during a mean follow-up of 8.3 years, a strong SOC was associated with a 20% reduced risk of all-cause mortality. Measures of lifestyle choice (cigarette smoking, physical activity, dietary intakes of fruit, vegetables and fibre) and socioeconomic status (social class and education) explained 23% of this association. Conclusions: The SOC concept embraces multiple sets of chronic disease risk factors that include lifestyle choices and those associated with socioeconomic status, and is a potential aid in understanding differences in health outcomes in similar individuals.

Daytime Napping and the Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A 13-Year Follow-up of a British Population

Epidemiologic studies have reported conflicting results on the relationship between daytime napping and mortality risk, and there are few data on the potential association in the British population. We investigated the associations between daytime napping and all-cause or cause-specific mortality in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer-Norfolk study, a British population-based cohort study. Among the 16,374 men and women who answered questions on napping habits between 1998 and 2000, a total of 3,251 died during the 13-year follow-up. Daytime napping was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (for napping less than 1 hour per day on average, hazard ratio = 1.14, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.27; for napping 1 hour or longer per day on average, hazard ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 1.68), independent of age, sex, social class, educational level, marital status, employment status, body mass index, physical activity level, smoking status, alcohol intake, depression, self-reported general health, use of hypnotic drugs or other medications, time spent in bed at night, and presence of preexisting health conditions. This association was more pronounced for death from respiratory diseases (for napping less than 1 hour, hazard ratio = 1.40, 95% confidence interval: 0.95, 2.05; for napping 1 hour or more, hazard ratio = 2.56, 95% confidence interval: 1.34, 4.86) and in individuals 65 years of age or younger. Excessive daytime napping might be a useful marker of underlying health risk, particularly of respiratory problems, especially among those 65 years of age or younger. Further research is required to clarify the nature of the observed association.

Prospective association between emotional health and clinical evidence of Parkinson’s disease

Background and purpose:u2002 Whilst disorders of emotion are commonly comorbid with Parkinson’s disease (PD), evidence concerning their association with PD risk is limited. We investigate the prospective association between selected measures of emotional health and incident suspected PD.

Respiratory function and self-reported functional health: EPIC-Norfolk population study

Respiratory function is known to be associated with mortality. However, its association with health related quality of life (HRQoL) has not yet been examined. A population-based cross sectional study was conducted in 16,738 subjects aged 40–79u2005yrs and resident in Norfolk, to examine the association between forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and HRQoL measured by the 36-item short form questionnaire. Individuals who were in the highest quintiles of FEV1 were more likely to report good physical functional health (odds ratio (OR) 1.60; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28–2.01 and OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.40–2.10 for males and females, respectively) controlling for age, height, weight or body mass index, smoking, physical activity, prevalent illness and social class. Being in the highest quintile for FEV1 was associated with significantly lower likelihood of poor self-reported mental functional health status in males (OR 0.78; 95% CI 0.61–0.99), but not in females (OR 1.00; 95% CI 0.82–1.22). In conclusion, forced expiratory volume in one second independently predicts self perceived physical well being in a general population across the whole normal distribution of respiratory function.

Self-reported sleep patterns in a British population cohort

Highlights • Our study provides a subjective sleep profile of a large British population–based cohort.• The reported time in bed (TIB) was more than 1.5 h longer than sleep duration.• All sociodemographic factors varied with TIB and sleep duration.• Sleep proportion may be a useful indicator of sleep patterns in this population.